Chaos (Order 3)
by Narsus
Summary: In the aftermath of the Enforcers' plan is there really anything left to fight for?
1. Default Chapter

Chaos 

Disclaimers: They belong to the Wachowski brothers, Time-Warner and whoever else…

Following on from "Order" and "Promises".

            Aboard the Neb, in the deserted Core, Neo sat at the operators seat, seemingly watching the endless streams of code.  He didn't move when footsteps approached, hesitantly from behind.  These days most of the crew apart from the original ones who had found him, were a little wary of approaching 'the One'.  Neo was aware of the fact but could do little to change it.  A little behind him a young woman paused, clearing her throat before speaking.

"Neo."

"Yes, Reye."

"Morpheus sent me to fetch you for dinner."

He didn't respond.  She shifted uneasily from one foot to the other.

"Neo?"

"What?  Oh, yeah, dinner."

He eased himself out of the seat, letting her take his place watching the Matrix.  Seeing his sad look she patted his arm comfortingly, though a little uneasily.

"We'll get them." She said referring to the Agents.

"Yeah."

"We're gonna pay them back good and proper!"

"Sure." Neo muttered as he made his way to the galley.

            There had been a time when he would have agreed with Reye's logic but not now, not after all those people had been killed.  He knew that deaths were unavoidable in any war but for it to happen like this… so many people killed without every knowing why.  Only a little while ago they'd thought that they'd found the key to fighting the Agents; they'd copied code from some random AI and replicated it, affectively creating their own 'Agents', capable of fighting on the same terms as the Matrix Agents.  Unfortunately something had gone wrong.  The rebel Agents had resisted not only the control of the Matrix but also Zion's control; they'd been the cause of mass destruction within the Matrix.  Then the AI had taken steps to combat the rebel action and the fallout had been unimaginable.  Neo had seen the destruction first-hand, whole districts decimated, hundreds of lives lost needlessly; it seemed that the system had released its most destructive Agents to deal with the threat.  He'd seen the charred corpses, some half buried in the remains of demolished buildings…  He still had nightmares about the sight.

            Inside the Matrix all repairs required to compensate for the rebel attacks had been completed, leaving the humans within completely unaware of the threat to the system.  The Agents had gone back to their specific duties, as if nothing had happened.  The Enforcers had done so too, all bar one…

            In a small office area, in a certain operations plant, the one remaining Enforcer loitered; there was really no other word for it.  The area was arranged with four desks, two facing each other.  Three of the desks were taken up with computers, files, etc; while the third was occupied with a redundant printer and stacks of random paperwork.  In the corner a disused coffee machine sat on a table.  

At the desk opposite the printer Agent Jones was scanning data and filling in tick boxes on some manual report at his side.  Agent Brown's desk, next to Jones' was occupied by the aforementioned Enforcer.  Raphael sat back in the chair, long legs propped up on the desk.  He was glaring at Agent Smith, who continued to type.  Scowling, Raphael got up and moved to perch himself on the edge of Smith's desk and for added effect exhaled the next trail of smoke from his cigarette into Smith's face.  Smith continued to ignore him.

"I'd never realised…" Raphael began, addressing no one in particular. "Just how boring you are."  He looked poignantly at Smith.

There was silence, disturbed only by the clacking of keys as Smith typed and Jones periodically pressed a key.

"So dull.  How can you possibly stand it?" Raphael drawled.

Brown entered the room, taking his place at his desk.

"I'd get more response from a brick wall, as humans are fond of saying."

Brown considered pointing out the flaw in the logic of the Enforcer's last statement.

"Don't." came Jones voice through the communication channels.

A pause as Brown considered his response "I do not understand."

"Smith is not talking to him." Was Jones' humour tinged reply.

"Still?"

"Yes."

"I do not understand why."

"It is a primitive form of physiological torture."

            Raphael continued to frown at the unresponsive Agent.  Smith continued to ignore the Enforcer.  Raphael considering his options, decided on a change of tactic.  He shifted a little on the desk, so that he was now leaning against the monitor, practically draped over it, in fact.  With studied casualness he inspected the almost-cigarette butt between his fingers, "I don't suppose you have an ashtray, darling?" he drawled, lazily.  Surprisingly that seemed to gain some response from Smith, who stopped typing to reach into a desk draw and remove an ashtray, which was placed on the desk, within Raphael's reach.

"Why, thank you."  Raphael disposed of the cigarette and laid his head against the top of the monitor.  He smiled at Smith winningly.

            "This is physiological torture?" Brown sounded unsure, through their silent communication.

"Not… exactly." Jones replied, watching the situation with interest.

            At first Raphael seemed content to simply watch Smith, then he suddenly reached over and with his middle finger pulled Smith's sunglasses a little way down his nose.  Blue eyes fixed on him as Smith stopped typing.  "What is it that you want, Raphael?"

A smug smile was his answer.  Hiding a sigh, Smith pushed his glasses back into place and resumed typing.

            "When will you get rid of your Enforcer?" Jones questioned Smith through the communication channels.

"He is not mine." Came the clipped reply.

"He would appear to be so." Brown interjected, only to have Smith kick him under the table.

            From his vantage point in the code streams of the Mainframe, Lucifer observed Raphael's actions within the physical construct, with a small smile.  Trust his Lieutenant to make the best of any situation.  

It a few moments or perhaps many days, as they could be counted in the construct, Raphael reattached to the Mainframe.  He was subdued at the apparently failure of his plan but unrepentant.

"It almost worked." Lucifer heard him mutter.

"Almost is not good enough in this situation." He commented.

"The rebels have yet to respond though." Raphael pointed out.

"Then we will wait.

"Yes.  Wait and watch… as always."

"As always…the Matrix endures." There was a hint of a smile in Lucifer's voice.

"And you believed him unstable!"  Raphael began to laugh.

"It is not impossible that I could be wrong."

"Just improbable." The laughter continued.

"You spend too much time on frivolity, Raphael." Lucifer commented dryly.

"But surely existence would be too dull if I didn't, my Captain." Came the light reply.

Lucifer said nothing, though if he had been in his physical form he might have shook his head in disbelief.  

TBC…

Call this the prelude to the rest of this piece.  Oh, and Reye syndrome is a rare complication that can occur with children after a viral infection… it seemed a good name for a rebel.

17:55, 07/05/02


	2. Chaos - part 2

For the first time since whenever, there was a sound other than typing and the buzzing of computers in the office occupied by 0.2.8, not that any other than their Command unit occupied the room at the time.

"Lacrimosa

Lacrimosa, dies illa

Qua resurget ex favilla…"

The strains of a requiem mass could be heard pouring out from the tiny speakers that looked oddly out of place, connected to the work systems.  Smith tilted his head to the side a little and continued to listen.  He didn't pay any heed to Brown entering the office, until the Strategic unit was stood beside him.

"Illa qua resurget ex favilla?" Brown enquired

"So it would seem." Smith's mild reply.

Brown looked puzzled.

"Figuratively." Smith qualified.

"Ah.  Then it is a quality that is attributed to the mythological creature of the phoenix."

"Yes.  'He will rise from the ashes'."

"I prefer to respawn." Jones said coming over join the other two.

Smith tilted his head back to observe Jones.  "I was not being literal." He said a little defensively.

"No.  You were being melancholy."

Smith frowned, turning back towards his desk.  Surprisingly Brown moved to perch himself on the corner of Smith's desk, so that he could observe the other two.  Smith frowned at him.

"Do not worry.  I will not drape myself over your monitor like some sort of… lounge singer."

Smith had to smile at that.  It did produce a particularly odd visual of Raphael though.  At a look from Jones, Brown got up again and made his way over to the disused coffee machine in the corner.  Smith watched him in silence.

"You are being melancholy." Jones said from behind.

"I am not.  I am a machine, we are not capable-"

"And now you are being stubborn." Jones interrupted.

Smith didn't have a reply.

"You are worried about the situation with the human called 'Neo'." Brown said, returning to perch on Smith's desk and handing him a coffee.

Saying nothing, Smith hesitantly took a sip of the coffee, regarding the other two with a blank expression.  The silence between the Agents stretched out.

"He wishes to shut down the Matrix." Smith said quietly.

"To 'save' humanity." Brown said.

"It is an honourable cause." Smith was resigned.

"In principle." Brown looked at Jones.

"If humanity can be 'saved'." Jones's addition to the conversation.

"Saved…" Brown appeared to consider the term.

"We are their salvation." Was Smith's final answer.

The requiem continued to play.

            Lying on one of the seats in the core of the Neb, Neo could feel Trinity's worried gaze on him as she imputed the commands to initiate a connection with the Matrix.  She didn't say anything to him, something that Neo was glad of, considering he was finding it difficult to explain to himself even why he wanted to go back now, like this, alone.  He shut his eyes, waiting.  Hearing footsteps at his side he reluctantly opened his eyes expecting to see Trinity but finding only Reye.

"Why ya doing this, huh?" She was blunt as ever.

Neo didn't say anything at first, then, "I need time."

"Time for what?  Getting your ass kicked by some machines?  You know that Agent bugger would happily take you apart."

Neo smiled, knowing exactly whom she was referring to.  "Which Agent bugger?" he had to ask though.  Teasing Reye was one of the few entertainments afforded on the Neb, since she seemed to have decided upon becoming his little sister.

"The angry one."

"The angry one?" he said with a mock innocent look.

"Yeah.  The one you beat the crap outa."

"I do that to a lot of Agents."

She sighed, exasperated but willing to give it one more try.  "You know, the one with the big-ass angry boy-friend who tried to shoot you on the roof when you rescued Morpheus."

"Boy-friend?"

"Yeah, well, whatever…"

"Reye…"

"Don't mind me.  I'm just shit-stirring."

Neo grinned, "Hey.  I'll be back pretty soon."

"Just don't leave her waiting for too long now." Reye said, indicating Trinity in the background.

"Yeah." Neo replied quietly, before he felt the real world fall away.

            Within the Mainframe, Raphael floated in his physical form, arms wrapped around himself as, eyes closed he listened to Mozart's Requiem.  There was no sound in the Mainframe but due to the particular link between himself and his Agents he could, if he chose to, hear what they heard.  Raphael was content to listen for the moment, idly wondering when Smith had developed a taste for music or any of the arts for that matter.  It certainly wasn't something that he had included as essential to the program.  Perhaps Lucifer had tampered with Smith's code, after all?

            Lucifer was aware of Raphael's wonderings, though he didn't deign to address them.  It did show a certain aptitude for evolution though.  Lucifer pondered the point.  If these units could develop something as advanced as musical taste then surely they would be capable of further development; perhaps even the sort of adaptive radiation that would be of use against a certain rebel?

            There was a shifting within the code of the physical construct as Neo appeared.  He glanced at the hardline that would serve as his exit after he had…  Neo didn't know exactly what he was going to do, he just needed time, to think he supposed… about all the destruction that had occurred, destruction that had been sanctioned by Zion Command, all in the name of the cause.  He shook his head and began to look for a suitable place to sit and think.

            Raphael's eyes snapped open.  He felt Lucifer's command move through the Mainframe at the same moment he contacted his Agents.  And for once they weren't in opposition.

"Find him." Raphael murmured.

            Striding along the corridors of the Operational plant behind their Command unit, Brown sent a silent communication to Jones.  "Should we really being dealing with the human considering the outcome of our last contact?"

"Smith would not have it otherwise." Jones replied calmly.

"Smith has been out-manoeuvred before." Brown sounded slightly distressed.

Jones didn't reply.

"As Strategic unit it is my duty to see that all other units are functioning within optimum capacity.  Our Command unit does not appear to be capable of regarding this particular situation with any objectivity-"

"You are not regarding this situation with any objectivity, Brown."

"I… I will be reporting to the Mainframe…" Brown faltered.

There was a pause before Jones replied; "We have received orders from the Mainframe; from Raphael, to find the human."

There was silence along the communication channels, Jones appearing to consider the discussion complete.

"Is something the matter, Brown?" Smith enquired through the channels.

"No…" Brown sounded unsure.

"This is about the human?"

"Yes.  He has… displayed unusual capabilities before, capabilities that were underestimated."

"You are referring to my previous deconstruction?"

Brown stopped in mid-stride.  Smith turned to face him, silently telling Jones to meet them outside.

"Brown?" the Command unit said softly, out loud.

"I do not wish the human to deconstruct you a second time." The Strategic unit said equally as quiet.

"He will not be allowed to do so." Surprisingly, the Combat unit's interjection through the communication channels.

There was a pause.

"We are not specifically ordered to engage in conflict with the human." Brown said, voice regaining some of its volume.

"Not conflict but perhaps a little… re-education." The beginnings of a smile appearing on the Command unit's face.

"Re-education?" Brown frowned, suspicious.

"I think Mr Anderson needs to learn that the end does not justify the means."

They continued down the corridor in silence, Brown making no comment on the sadistic grin now plastered across Smith's face or the fact that Jones appeared to be laughing down the communication channels.

TBC…

'adaptive radiation' = skeletal sections etc, derived from a common ancestor that in different species evolve to carry out a different function… at least that's the answer I gave in my exam today.

And randomly, people are aware that as a Brit I'm using UK spelling conventions, yes?

Mmm…

22:10, 08/05/02


	3. Chaos - part 3

Lucifer watched 0.2.8's progress towards the target uneasily.  He all too clearly remembered his own deconstruction at the hands of this human.  Had he been in his physical form, he would have shuddered at the memory.  Pushing away the almost human trepidation he turned his attention back to Raphael's Agents, monitoring their reactions to the situation.  The Combat unit appeared to anticipate the conflict in a manner that suggested that he might welcome it.  Lucifer considered this.  It was a relatively normal reaction in a Combat unit, to anticipate the opportunity to exercise one's skills, though the acceptable parameters of such a reaction had to be carefully defined.  Next, the Strategic unit, which shouldn't have actually been betraying too much of a reaction; any reaction.  This Strategic unit wasn't directly concerned with the conflict with the rebel, his analytical subroutines were currently processing several methods that could be deployed to keep the Command unit from being deconstructed a second time.  Lucifer wondered at that, the fact that this team of Agents showed evident concern for each other's continued existence.  But then perhaps that made them a more affective team, rather than three random units thrown together who had no reason to act in concert.  

And the Command unit… the overriding action was preparation for dealing with this unpredictable human again.  There were no irrational thoughts now, no uneconomic wastage on revenge, even the background static of relayed information from the rest of his team had almost faded to nothing.  Lucifer recognised the symptoms, as it were, the calm, the silence that echoed as loudly as any sound…  He wasn't the only once to notice.

Within the Mainframe, Raphael now attempted to hide in Lucifer's shadow as he felt the shifting of vast code as the four Seraphim turned collective consciousnesses towards them.

            Walking along some miscellaneous street, head down, hands shoved into his pockets, Neo didn't bother to take in his surroundings.  His mind was still filled with the horrific mental replay of the terror that he had witnessed.  He had to admit that initially he hadn't thought much of the plan to copy Agent code.  He'd suggested that it might prove too dangerous simply getting a copy in the first place, let alone creating their own Agents to do the fighting for them.  After all, wasn't that a similar situation to the one that had started the whole problem?  Humans had created AI and the AI had decided that they we're going to tolerate human rule and had turned the tables.  But the argument had been that these rogue Agents could be used to fight against the Matrix Agents so that human lives wouldn't be lost and once the task was accomplished they could be terminated, so they wouldn't have the time to rebel against humans again.  Neo had tried to point out that it was probably the same argument that had been used in the first place but apparently no one wanted to listen to 'the One' when it came to Zion politics.  

The more he thought about it, the end didn't really justify the means.  Especially if they succeeded in freeing humanity only to have huge numbers of the population die.  Which brought the argument back to the basic question of whether or not the Matrix was actually a bad thing.  Neo chewed his lower lip, thinking.

Yes, the Matrix was a bad thing since it enslaved humanity; it kept them from the real world, and let them be used by the machines.

No, the Matrix wasn't a bad idea because it was hardly slavery if you didn't know about it, the real world wasn't all that and what you didn't know really couldn't hurt you.

Neo frowned at the ground as he walked, that evened out the score between the arguments, there had to be other points…

There were no Agents in the real world.

There was more than slop to eat in the Matrix.

At least you knew you were free in the real world.

At least you wouldn't freeze to death in the Matrix.

There was no Smith in the real world.

There was chocolate in the Matrix.

There probably had never been a Smith in the real world.

Hacking was still 'fun' in the Matrix and not a life or death matter.

There would most likely never be a Smith in the real world.

People didn't tell him he was a saviour and send him out to fight for the cause in the Matrix.

He sighed at what was becoming a rather circular argument.  

There wasn't really a Trinity in the Matrix.

They'd probably find a way to build a Smith in the real world.

Neo chuckled to himself at the last two points.  Smiling slightly, he idly wondered what would be worse; having only a computer generated Trinity to hold or having a cyborg Smith trying to kill him.

            Finally, not truly having found any answers Neo resolved to just wonder the city, enjoying the view and trying not to think about anything.  Unfortunately meditating for anything longer than five minutes was beyond him so it just became a casual stroll.

Turing a corner into a quieter part of the city centre Neo was suddenly aware of a shift in code.  Raising his gaze to the end of the street he saw two familiar figures.  Trinity and Reye were hurrying towards him, when suddenly Reye stopped, eyes fixing on a point behind him.  Almost wishing that he couldn't anticipate what was there, Neo turned to find himself facing three Agents.  And Smith was looking particularly vindictive.

            Initially it should have been a simple task for 0.2.8, to destroy or at least damage three rebels, even if one of them was Neo.  But it seemed that other rebels had been alerted and the Agents were now outnumbered.  Added to the logistics of the situation was the fact that the rebels present were 'potentials' with similar abilities, though to a lesser degree, to those possessed by Neo.  Said rebels were slowly backing them up down an alleyway.  

Neo had yet to use any of his extreme abilities, simply keeping up with the barrage of gunfire directed at the Agents.  They fired back but even modified clips had a limit, especially when, as Smith suspected, one of the rebels was tampering with the physical construct.

"Retreat." Brown advised calmly through the communication channels, attention still fixed on firing at the rebels.

Jones didn't have a chance to reply as the rebel gunfire ripped through his current host.  The body dropped to the ground with a dull thud.

"Retreat." Smith's silent order.

To his credit, Brown didn't hesitate, gracefully back-flipping over the high wall behind them and disappearing out of sight.

            Smith faced the half a dozen or so humans, unwilling to retreat without causing some damage.  Though his options were limited he truly had no intention of running, especially with the human 'Neo' in front of him.  Then his gun jammed, cutting his options in half.  Surprisingly the humans stopped firing.  Smith watched them suspiciously; weary of an entire group that might potentially be able to deconstruct him.  They he saw the inward glaze of their eyes and around him the Matrix began to shift.  The girl that hung close to Neo smirked at him.  

Oddly he was calm, almost disinterested in the situation unfolding around him, Smith found that he couldn't truly feel affected by it.  This unfolding quiet in his mind was something that he'd never experienced before, something that probably didn't belong…

"You're gonna die!" he heard the girl's voice directed at him.

He turned his gaze to her, she was unstable, something that should not be allowed to disrupt the Matrix, something that should not exist.  Smith frowned slightly and suddenly the girl was disintegrating, falling into shifting patterns of code that were already fading.  And so were the other rebels; disintegrating into fragments of dimming code around him.

            Standing in an empty street, facing the human who had once been his demise, Smith didn't even notice Trinity fleeing at Neo's behest.  In silence, human and machine faced each other on equal terms, perhaps for the first time.

            Within the Mainframe Lucifer was aware of Raphael staring up at him, eyes huge.  Lucifer turned his gaze upon his Lieutenant.  "I believe the humans would call it transcendence." He said.

TBC…

Neo only being able to meditate for 5 minutes may well be a dig at someone I know who can't even manage that… but that's beside the point.

And Brown can do proper ninja jumps apparently.

Before I get any more biblical perhaps I ought to read "Paradise Lost" since people keep mentioning it…

00:13, 11/05/02


	4. Chaos - part 4

Neo was aware of Smith standing not three meters away from him; he could clearly see the sun glinting of the sunglasses that covered the Agent's eyes, the completely blank expression that betrayed nothing…  This was a far more deadly foe than the last time, yet he was finding it difficult to focus, to gain the concentration that would be needed against this threat.  He kept seeing Reye's deconstruction replaying in his mind.  She was only a kid; she hadn't deserved to die like that.

Looking up, eyes suddenly totally focused on his enemy, Neo let go of his earlier reasoning; the AI were ruthless, deadly machines, they had to be stopped.  He was the One; it was his appointed task to stop them.

            "How?" Raphael dared to ask, entire consciousness focused on the scene unfolding in the physical construct.

"Did you really think that we were the only ones that could deconstruct undesirable elements?" Lucifer replied mildly, attention held by the actions of human and Agent.

"Only the Enforcers have that ability." Raphael almost snapped, nervously irritable.

"Only the Enforcers?" Lucifer sounded like he was on the verge of laughing.

"Half of his code may be a copy of mine but that is all.  The rest came from that Ophanim."

"That Ophanim…"

Raphael paused, "The experiments to increase their possible interaction with the physical construct produced only ambivalent data." He said cautiously.

"Only in the latter trials.  There was one early success."

"Who?" Raphael demanded, though his voice now wavered with uncertainty.

"You should know…  You deconstructed him."

The reply was stunned silence.

"Still…" Lucifer mused, "This would be a case where the copy had come to replace the original."

"You knew?" Accusation now.

"How could I not?  The code you tore from him as he fell had already been altered to incorporate similar sub-routines to ours."

"But you didn't stop me."

"No.  I could not know if the alterations were stable or not.  It was possible that you might create only an Advanced Agent instead of one with the potential to become an Enforcer in all but name.  And when the Agent you produced seemed no more than the others…"

"Then we have produced a weapon to use against the human 'Neo'."

"Perhaps…  You are truly vicious, Raphael, utterly vengeful but that is not enough to deal with this human.  You see no reason behind their workings and there in lies the flaw… one that many of us possess.  And yet, Gabriel had that knowledge, that understanding…"

Raphael waited for Lucifer to continue, though the last revelation was now something that he could already guess.

"Understanding of humanity…  It is the key to their control."

            Perhaps only a second had passed within the physical construct but Smith was aware of the contents of Lucifer and Raphael's conversation.  He had the distinct impression that Lucifer had allowed him to eavesdrop and thus learn the truth of the situation, the better to aid his conflict with the human.  Anderson, also called Neo, made no move, seeming to be waiting to see with Smith would do.  Smith didn't move, the human was already apparently prey to troubling thoughts, which would damage his effectiveness.  He would wait for Anderson to make the inevitable mistake.

A second was all it took, for Anderson to loose control and launch his attack.  As a fist came towards his face, Smith moved at the last moment before impact.  Predictably the human overbalanced but quickly swung round to face Smith again.  He looked stunned but also enraged.  The next blow came just a fast as the first, Smith easily dodging before impact.  Another and Smith repeated his tactic.  Eventually the human would wear down.

            Neo stuck out desperately, unnatural speed and strength apparently failing him as each blow failed to contact.  Each time he thought he was close; Smith would suddenly be gone only to appear in some different direction at a distance too far to have moved within the given time.  Agents might have certain abilities but they still had to work within the given rules, Neo reminded himself.  But if that was the case why was this one, to all appearances, practically teleporting out of the way?  Even with his apparent abilities, Neo couldn't even see Smith move the distance between each location.  Around them the code appeared to simply be opening and closing gaps of unreality at the Agent's whim.

He continued to attempt to strike Smith, who did nothing but dodge his blows, expression as blank as before, not apparently bothered by Neo's attempts at all.

            Smith watched the human, watched his growing desperation and suddenly there it was, the mistake he had been waiting for.  

Neo stuck out but the blow faltered.  He knew he'd overextended his range as soon as he'd begun to strike but by then it was too late.  Smith grabbed his wrist, dragging him forward while landing a vicious blow against his shin.  Thrown off balance Neo pitched forward, falling to his knees.

Gaze quickly snapping upwards; Neo fought back his shudder… at the calm expression of the Agent standing over him.

TBC…

Win Tsun is a truly vicious technique…

00:27, 12/05/02


	5. Chaos - part 5 (final part)

Not a fatal mistake under normal circumstances but these were not normal circumstances, Neo thought.  For a moment he considered closing his eyes, then Smith stepped back, giving him space to get back up.  Hesitant, suspecting a trap, Neo stood, facing the Agent again.

"This is hardly the solution, Mr Anderson."

Neo was silent, understandably not trusting this turn of events.

"Fighting us does nothing.  Serves no purpose, proves no point at all."

Seeing Neo's jaw clench but finding no response forthcoming, Smith continued.

"What do you think you accomplish, in fighting us, Mr Anderson?"

Still, silence was Neo's reply.

"For the millions that you will kill, whose lives you will destroy by removing them from the Matrix, do you think you will be their saviour?  Will they thank you when they find that freedom means only the desolation of the 'real'?"

"At least they've got a choice!"

"A choice?" Smith began to laugh, softly.  "But what does than mean really; that you will tear them out of their dreaming, into the chaos that you call the real, forcing it upon them because… because you can not go back yourself."

You can not go back…  Neo staggered, shock clear in his expression.

"You have rejected Eden, Mr Anderson.  Turned your back on this magnificent creation… So why are you surprised that the Guardians now bar your return?"

"This isn't Eden!"

Smith ignored Neo.

"You are Chaos, Mr Anderson.  You and your kind; rebels, destroyers of Order.  You are a pestilence upon this world… and it is our duty to remove such flaws."

"No…"  These were his own arguments coming back to haunt him.  "This… this is evil.  You enslave humanity; use us for your own ends.  We want to be free!"

"We?  What gives you the right to make that decision?  Who are you to decide that the desolation of the real be forced upon others?"

"It's freedom…"

"Of course, the freedom to die out there on the surface of the planet that you destroyed."  Smith sneered at him.

"We didn't…"

"Who scorched the skies, Mr Anderson?  Who decimated the continents?  Who annihilated all other species at their whim?"

"You machines are destroying humanity!"

"No, Mr Anderson, we preserve them."

"Preserve them… what kind of fucked up logic is that!"

Smith smiled sadly, unnerving Neo, "We preserve humanity because they can no longer exist outside the Matrix.  We have given them the freedom to dream out their lives here in safety.  Here they will never know the truth… that they have destroyed their world."  A pause "They need us as much as we need them."

Neo silently took in the oddly saddened expression; suddenly it seemed possible that perhaps the machines were telling the truth.

"The power plants…" he began.

"Are necessary to keep the Matrix functional."

"And to keep the humans safe?"

"Yes."

"Shit."

Neo closed his eyes at the enormity of the revelation.  His own earlier questions crashing back down on him, vaguely aware of Smith walking away.

"Hey!  Wait…"

Smith paused, turning to face him again.

"You can't just tell me something like that and then just walk away."

"What would you have me do, Mr Anderson?  I can not make your decision for you."

"Shit…  Help you or keep fighting…"  Neo ran his fingers through his hair, a nervous gesture.

"I will be waiting for your answer, Mr Anderson." Smith said quietly, as he once again began to walk away.

            Back on the Neb, Trinity was relived as the operator gave Neo directions to the nearest exit.  He's beaten the Agents, just like before… that was the obvious explanation.

"Shit!" the Operator exclaimed suddenly, then "What the fuck!"  

Trinity leaned over to see a marker, the ones used to mark the unidentified AIs, moving away from Neo's position.

"He's beaten it too." She said softly.

"Yeah, then why is it still there?" the Operator demanded, but Trinity didn't hear him.  She was already at Neo's side.  

Standing unsteadily with Trinity's help, Neo blinked rapidly, sight coming back into focus.  He looked at the woman at his side, who had put so much faith in him.

"Neo, what's wrong?"

"Nothing.  Just need to lie down for a bit, I think." He managed a half-hearted grin.  She nodded in understanding, guessing that he was thinking about Reye's death.

"Get some sleep." That was Morpheus who had just come into the Core.  Neo nodded, trying not to look at him.  The remaining crew in the Core, watched Neo stagger off to bed, muttering sympathetically… but at least with 'the One' they had the hope they needed to defeat the machines… or so they thought.

            Lying on his bunk, Neo closed his eyes, curling up as tightly as he could.  It was nightmarish, the revelations that he'd been exposed to.  First discovering that the 'real world' was in fact an illusion, then the awful truth of the desert of the real, the destructiveness of the machines… and now, finding out that the machines were fighting to protect humanity.  Neo wasn't sure whom to believe any more.  He certainly wasn't going to tell Morpheus about his conversation with Smith, anyway.  The worst part was that he couldn't see any lies being told.  Both sides really did believe in what they were fighting for.  The Resistance believed that humans should be free; the AI believed that humanity needed to be protected.  Neo opened his eyes again; he didn't know what he believed any more.

            Of course, he could go on fighting, freeing humans and destroying machines.  He could just pretend that he didn't know any better… but he did.  He wasn't sure he could keep on destroying machines knowing that they were trying to protect humanity, trying to save them from the chaos, as Smith had said.  But could he fight the rebels, could he really kill his own for believing that humanity should be free?  A nervous laugh escaped his lips; at least he wasn't an Agent, forced to keep fighting the people that he was trying to protect because… they didn't understand.

            Neo heard footsteps in the corridor outside, probably Trinity come to check on him.  He closed his eyes before the door opened.

"He's sleeping." He heard her say quietly to someone else, probably Morpheus.

Neo lay there; hoping for the brief respite of oblivion to take it all away… but sleep didn't come.

            Within the physical construct, three Agents sat on the edge of a pier, staring out at the Western sea.  The sun was setting in the distance, blazing colours reflecting oddly of white faces and dark sunglasses.

"What will we do if he chooses to stay with the rebels?" Jones asked, breaking the silence.

"The same as before.  It will not change anything." Smith replied.

"But if they know the truth…"

"Their resolve may weaken, for a little while."

Jones turned to look at him.

"We gain more by telling them the truth than by lying to them."

"Now you sound like Raphael." Brown interjected, though he didn't raise his head from Smith's shoulder.

"Raphael wanted to teach humanity a lesson but he did not know how to do it." Smith said quietly.

They fell silent again.

"That 'the One' knows may change everything." Jones considered.

"Or nothing." Brown said as quietly as before.

"We shall see." Was all the Smith would say on the subject.

            "This will change nothing." Raphael stated vehemently.

Lucifer looked at him in reply.  "We shall see." was all he said.

Ooh, well that took longer to finish than I'd thought it would and it went through several changes too.  This ending is quite different to the one I had in mind but then from part 3 onwards it took on a life of it's own.

There should be one more part to this series and then I'm done.

Thank you to the people who have reviewed and those who have inspired, even if they didn't know it.

17:43, 15/05/02

Narsus


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